2025 Kia EV3 GT-Line S Review | Is it BEST FAMILY EV?
This is the Kia EV3 and it’s a car that a lot of people are talking about like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Like this is the ultimate allround family electric car. Let’s find out if they’re right. So, this is Kia’s smallest electric car. It comes in three trim levels. It comes in air, GT Line, and GT Line S. Uh this is a review car, and quite often they come fully speced up. So, this one’s a GT Line S. It’s got the longrange battery. That means uh this one’s £44,000. However, the air starts from £33,000. So, this GT Line S frontwheel drive that I’ve got today has got n 62 time of 7.9 seconds, 201 brake horsepower, and it can tow a ton. Now, every flavor of the EV3 is absolutely packed with standard safety equipment and driver assist features. Um, but you’ll have to go up to GT Line S if you want to get things like uh blind spot view monitor, surround view, parking, collision avoidance, and remote smart parking assist. Yes, it has got that thing where you can cram it into a little parking space and then come out later on and summon the car with the key fob, which is quite cool. Um, just to show your kids or your friends. Um, but I’ve actually used it twice in multi-story car parks where someone’s coming and parked that far away from me and it’s massively useful. People often complain, don’t they, that all modern cars look the same and they’re all sort of a cookie cutter. All very generic. Well, look at this thing. It’s absolutely bonkers. It’s got those big plastic looking shiny wheel arches um and all these crazy styling cues that make it look like a big sort of chunky Tonka toy. Um, it’s very bold styling and it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I personally think it’s absolutely awesome. And I love to see a car that’s got some angles and lines rather than just a big cloud. And I particularly like the headlights on these new Kia a lot. Uh, the GT Line S and the GT Line come with 19in wheels where you’ll get 17in rims as standard on the Air. In terms of batteries and range, there’s a 55 kWh version. That’s only available on the air. However, if you go to the uh GT Line or the GT Line S, actually all the Air, you can get the longrange version on all of them. Uh the longrange version is 81 kW hours, and that should give you 375 miles of range. There is one thing that’s a bit annoying, though, and that’s that the car doesn’t come with a heat pump as standard. And in fact, it’s only an optional extra even on the top level GT Line S. And that means in the real world in the winter, you’re probably not going to get quite so close to that 270 miles or 200 375 miles as you think you might. And that’s a bit of a shame. Charging speeds are a little bit disappointing as well. The smaller battery will charge at about 100 kW. The larger battery around about 130 kW. Not exactly the worst in class, but by no means the best. Now, the boot space is good. We’ve got 460 L here and it’s a really good usable space. Um, I’ve got lots of equipment in here at the moment and we’ve still got a good under floor space to keep the charging cables and everything. So, 460 L is perfectly adequate. We’ve got a little pop out parcel shelf here and that just covers thus. Um, it’s a really good shape as well and you’ve got plenty of height so you can get large items in here. easy to drop the back seats down as well. And then you’ve got something approaching a little van. So, it is very practical. Uh you’ve also got a very small frunk in this just to give you a little extra space and you could fit one of your charging cables in there for example. So, the front cabin has a lot to like about it. There’s a real feeling of space in here and that feels great especially on a long journey. You feel like you’re in a massive car. And actually, the footprint of this car is not massive. Uh, it’s not the smallest car in the world, but this feels like you’re in a van almost. We’ve got loads of room here and this big expanse up here. Nice big windows everywhere. So, there’s great forward visibility. What’s not so good, however, is the placement of the cup holders. So, they’re right down here. And if you’ve got scolding hot coffee, like it requires a little bit of to get it out without throwing it over yourself. And I’m not personally a fan of that positioning. I would have liked the cup holders to have been built in here. But on this center console, this one’s got a laptop tray, which is great if you do lots of work in your car, possibly while you’re charging or something. Um, but that means there’s no storage here or here. And I believe this is just determined by the trim level of car you choose. And that would have been nice if it was an optional extra. And if somehow you pulled that out and you then got storage space here or perhaps uh cup holders here somewhere. I feel like that’s an area that someone’s solved a problem that didn’t exist potentially and given us a fresh one. Uh we have got wireless charging pad down here and two USBC ports down here. We’ve got a physical volume control which is going to make me very excited and physical air con controls. Although the rest of the air con controls are on this little screen here, it all works perfectly well, but it’s blocked by the steering wheel. Even if you’re quite tall, it still cuts into it a bit. So, you end up doing like this. And that’s a bit odd, but in reality, once everything’s set, you’re probably just going to flick the temperature up or down. On the door here, we’ve also got controls for this one’s got heated and ventilated seats. A good thing on a day like today. um heated steering wheel and you’ve got memory positions for the seats. So, that’s all kind of lovely. We’ve also got Harmon Card and sound system, which sounds great predictably. Um and we’ve got wireless Apple CarPlay if you want to just use the standard Kia infotainment system instead. That all works very well. It’s all quite monochromatic in this, but it’s nice and clear, and I I think it’s one of the better systems on the market. You also got a lovely driver information display that gives you as much detail as you need and isn’t overly fussy. Beautiful steering wheel. It’s a little bit squared off. It’s got Austin Allegro vibes to a degree, but it feels nice under the hand. And you’ve got physical dials, couple of rockers, and physical buttons. The seats are really comfortable, too. Lots of thought has gone into this cabin. And apart from a couple of minor little things, it’s very, very good. They’ve used nice materials. You’ve got this lovely feeling of space. Everything feels somewhat familiar. Even if you’re new to the brand, it just works. It’s a good job. The rear cabin’s also really nice. You’ve got plenty of headroom. I’m about 5’9 and a half and I’ve got about that. So, you’d be well happy in here at probably 6’1. Um, and this seat is actually further back than my normal driving position because uh it’s got that sort of comfort entry and exit thing. So, the car pulls itself back, you get in, and then it moves back forward. But even in this position, there’s plenty of knee room, and there is just enough space for my feet. Uh, some of the Korean cars actually could do with more tow room. Simple as that. But we can just about get away with it in this one. I’ll give them a pass. We’ve got a couple of air vents down here. USBC’s in the side of the driver and passenger seat. Brilliant place for those to be so they don’t get kicked when the kids are getting in and out in the back. And you can easily get a couple of car seats in here, but you won’t fit a third. Funny enough, for a car that’s spoken about in such high esteem, so very often the driving aspect of the car is perhaps the least interesting um because it’s just really good. It just drives really, really well. Um, but it doesn’t do anything particularly exceptionally and it doesn’t make the hair stand up on the back of your neck or anything like that. It’s just a good family car and it’s as simple as that. Um, it’s nice over the bumps. It’s not too bangy or crashy despite it being obviously quite a heavy car. And it’s comfortable, like really comfortable. And part of the reason it’s comfortable is because you’ve got all this room and you’ve got this feeling of aireriness. Uh it doesn’t feel like you’re confined to a little metal box at any point. The steering’s not the most direct, but it’s completely fine and most of the time you’ve got a good understanding of which way the front wheels are pointing. As I said, it’s very good. It’s just not exceptional. The regen braking’s good. You’ve got um three levels of regen and one pedal driving is possible. Uh or or you can obviously roll that off to your liking which is quite nice. That’s done via the paddles here. So you can adjust it on the fly as it were rather than having to dive through various menus. One thing that is annoying, the various bings and bongs on the car, I’ve kept those armed for the purposes of this review. Um it’s quite busy today. We might not set any of them off, but they are a little bit annoying. Like, it’s not just this car. Many cars now have these beings and bongs that are going off so regularly that you just stop taking any notice of them. And if you remember, you probably turn them off before you get in the car. And I think those safety uh features and driver assistance features are best when they’re more discreet because I think people take more notice of them when they happen less frequently and I think pe people take more notice of them when they’re turned on and not turned off. Uh it’s all well and good having all these things in cars, but if they become so annoying that you just turn them all off, we’re kind of back to square one, aren’t we? Um, I’ve already mentioned like the controls being well laid out and everything apart from this little air con screen here, but that really comes into its own when you’re driving. You don’t have to go looking for everything. I assume that the volume is going to be this right rocker on the steering wheel and that’s where it is. I assume if I want to reach for the other one, it’s over here. I assume if I want to go for the air con, I’m going around here somewhere. Everything’s where you would expect it to be. And I feel like you could learn the controls in this car blindfolded if you’ve driven any other kind of modern car that’s not just entirely reliant on a screen. Uh the head-up display is nice. You do get a bit of windscreen reflection though. Um particularly from the center speaker. Obviously, it’s a nice sunny day today and we don’t have too many of those in the UK, so it might not be a big problem in practice. But on a nice sunny day like today, you you do get a fair amount of windscreen reflection and it is a little bit annoying. If you’re wearing polarizing sunglasses, I’m sure that will disappear. But if you’re in prescriptions like me, it doesn’t. At no point do you feel the car’s lacking for power. The not 62 times good, but you know, nothing extravagant, but on a family car, it’s very good. But as with all electric cars, it’s that naugh to 30, I think, that makes the biggest difference and gives you that real feeling of progress. I’m cruising along here at 65. If I want to go up to 70, it’s completely effortless as you would expect. And uh it’s just as happy floating along at that speed. Um, it’s quite a windy day today and the car is quite high-sided, so you can feel that wind pushing against it when a gust comes in. Um, but it’s nothing completely out of the way and you do get quite a lot of tire rumble in this car. Um, more than I would have expected and it feels a little bit loud for an electric car when you’re out at motorway speed. around town, I think you’ll find it really, really quiet. But at this kind of speed, there is a bit more noise in the cabin than I possibly would have expected. And folks, we always talk about range and we talk about charging speeds, but I don’t think we talk about efficiency quite enough. At the moment, I’m getting 4.4 miles per kilowatt hour, uh, which I think is very competitive for this kind of car, particularly one with as much room in it as this one. I don’t think that’s too bad at all. So, to summarize the way the car drives, I’d say if you’re looking for a super engaging, interesting thing that you’re going to have a little bit of fun with on the B- roads, you should probably look elsewhere. If you want something that’s just comfortable and efficient and troublefree, I think you could be on to a winner. So, what’s the verdict on this one, folks? Well, firstly, the exterior design I think is fantastic. just the fact it looks different and it doesn’t look different in a look how wacky I am kind of way. It’s just different and kind of h and some people will love it, some people won’t, but at least it provokes some kind of reaction from someone unlike so many of these genero boxes that are available on the market today. Um, it also works really well. You know, it’s got a decent amount of boot space. You’re not lacking for passenger space. You’ve got plenty of visibility. So, from that aspect, the design works really well as well. It’s not just about form, it’s also about function. The interior is very good. There are a couple of areas where there are a couple of little frustrations in there, like the height of the cup holder and being able to see that air con screen without craning your neck around. Um, and and generally, it’s very well equipped. It’s full of safety tech, etc. One thing that is an annoyance though is that we’re looking at cars from quality manufacturers like Kia now that don’t come as standard with a heat pump. And as much as the range may be very good on paper, you’re not going to get that in the winter when it’s really cold and you don’t have a heat pump. A heat pump does make a difference. I’ve seen lots of anecdotal evidence about heat pumps in the past, but I’ve had cars with and without and I can tell you there’s a marked difference when you’ve got a heat pump and it’s cold. And I think for a car now over £35,000, it should just have one as standard. It should stop being part of the conversation. The other thing that could be better is that fast charging speed. Obviously, for a lot of us, um we’re we’re charging overnight at home anyway, so it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference on 99% of the occasions that we use the car. But when you do want to go on a long road trip, a little splash and dash is great when it’s a little splash and dash and not a medium or long splash and dash. If you get what I’m saying. I asked you a question at the start of this video, which was, is this the best all round family car? Is it the best all round family EV? I don’t know. Probably not. But it deserves to be part of the conversation. And really, it is only a couple of those little frustrations that mean it’s not the conversation because it’s very, very good and very well put together and in most areas extremely welldesigned. It’s a clever car and there’s a lot to like about it. So, you should absolutely go and test drive one for yourself. And if you like it and you’re interested in leasing one, click my link in the video description. It will show you all the best lease deals on this car at the time you click and it helps support the channel. Thumbs up and subscriptions also help support the channel. So, please do that and please leave a comment. Thanks ever so much for watching, folks. I really do appreciate it and I hope you come back and watch some more. Thanks. Huge thanks to all my channel members for your continued support. I really do appreciate it.
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The all-new Kia EV3 GT-Line S has arrived – but is it really the ultimate electric family car everyone’s been waiting for?
In this full review, I put the EV3 through its paces to find out whether the hype is justified. With bold design, a big range, and Kia’s usual high equipment levels, it certainly looks like a winner. But there are some things you should know – including average charging speeds and a few interior quirks that might frustrate.
That said, the EV3 is still a very capable long-distance EV, offering space, comfort, and tech that make it a strong contender for families looking to go electric in 2025.
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